House Speaker John Boehner really, really wants Millionaire Stewart Mills III to come to Congress. Boehner already headlined a fundraiser in Minnesota to raise money for Mills III and name-checked him in a video, calling Mills III a “great candidate.” Now we have another reason why – both Mills III and Boehner not only oppose renewing unemployment insurance, but also insult the hardworking Minnesotans who are looking for work.
Speaker Boehner has adjourned the House until the election, despite taking no action on millions of Americans who are looking for work but whose unemployment insurance has expired. Instead, Boehner defended his refusal to extend unemployment insurance by saying that the unemployed believe that “you know, I really don’t have to work. I don’t really want to do this, I think I’d just rather sit around.”
“When Mills III said unemployment insurance is a ‘stunning admission of failure,’ he was laying the groundwork for his friend John Boehner to disrespect hardworking people who are still looking for work – all while pushing to give millionaires like himself more tax breaks,” said Brandon Lorenz of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “The bottom line is that just about the only thing Mills says unemployment insurance is a failure, but that’s the mark of an out-of-touch candidate who inherited his jobs.”
BACKGROUND:
Boehner-Headlined Fundraiser in Minnesota for Mills. In August 2014, Mills held a fundraiser with Speaker Boehner which was sponsored in part by Hubbard Broadcasting executives Stanley and Karen Hubbard. Hubbard Broadcasting had been the only stations to pull an anti-Mills independent advertisement. [Minneapolis Star Tribune, 8/08/14]
Speaker Boehner Suggested a Number of Unemployed American’s would “Rather Sit Around.” In 2014 Speaker Boehner said: “We’ve got a record number of Americans not working. We’ve got a record number of Americans […] stuck, if you will. And I think it’s our obligation to help provide the tools for them to use to bring them into the mainstream of American society. I think this idea that’s been born out the last – maybe out of the economy last couple of years that, “you know, I really don’t have to work. I don’t really want to do this, I think I’d just rather sit around.” This is a very sick idea for our country.” [MSNBC, 9/22/14; American Enterprise Institute, 9/18/14]
- Headline: Boehner blasts America’s unemployed as lazy [MSNBC, 9/22/14]
Mills Called Raising the Minimum Wage and Extending Unemployment Insurance an “Admission of Failure” In 2014, Mills called raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment insurance a “stunning admission of failure.” [Star Tribune, 1/9/14]
June: Mills Said the Unemployment Rate was 8%. In 2014, Mills said, “We have an 8 percent unemployment rate currently. Contrast that with a 4.5 percent unemployment rate statewide. We know we can do better.” [WDIO, 6/6/14]
- May 2014: National Unemployment Rate is 6.3% [Bureau of Labor and Statistics, accessed 6/18/14]
- May 2014: Duluth, MN-WI Unemployment Rate is 5.6%[Bureau of Labor and Statistics, accessed 6/18/14]
- April 2014: Minnesota Unemployment Rate is 4.7% [Bureau of Labor and Statistics, accessed 6/18/14]